The sequence of technical operations relative to the ejection of small- and/or medium-caliber ammunition residues may be generalized to the combination of two actions: i) recovering any material (stones, plants, etc.) falling under the effect of gravity into a closed circular structure, such as a pipe, and ii) transporting this material on a moving surface, such as a belt, provided with a vibrating device situated below the latter in order to modify some or all of the environmental conditions of the material.
Within a turret mounted on any armored vehicle, after conveying an ammunition chain or strip through one (or several) supply channel(s) toward the primary weapon (barrel) and/or secondary weapon (machine-gun or coax), where the ammunition either has a small caliber varying between 5.56 mm and 15 mm, or a medium caliber ranging from 20 mm to 50 mm, and after shooting said ammunition, the ejection of the shells and/or connectors making up the latter to date has never been a priority in the state of the art, either technically (mechanical, electrical, etc. parameters), or as relates to ergonomics and safety.
Thus, after shooting medium-caliber ammunition from an ammunition chain or strip at the primary weapon, the shells are ejected through an orifice situated near the barrel at the height of the turret mask. In other words, it is evacuated outside the turret in the forward direction “practically” parallel to the axis of said barrel, while the connectors are collected inside the turret, and more particularly within the basket, following a “random” path between the various internal modules such as the HMI (Human Machine Interface), the wiring systems, etc. In some scenarios, the ejection is sideways or downward, like what is described for a “coax”.
Regarding the small-caliber ammunition associated with the secondary weapon, both for the shells and the connectors from the ammunition chain or strip, the recovery of these two units, also generally called residues, after shooting follows the same approach as that previously described for the connectors of the medium-caliber ammunition chain or strip of the barrel.
Without a system for recovering the shells and/or connectors of an ammunition chain or strip characterized by the two aforementioned calibers, it is essential to develop an effective and safe approach accounting for the bulk, electromechanical parameters and contractual constraints, while economically optimizing the turrets previously developed. In other words, for each project, old and new, it is necessary to rethink and optimize the architectural concept in the mask of the turret.
Regarding the i) conceptual (electronic and mechanical engineering), ii) safety, and iii) economic perspectives, the approach described above is not acceptable, or profitable for the builder. Furthermore, the user's requirements are relatively drastic at all levels, which is why a new approach is necessary to remain competitive and innovative.
In the prior art, the proposed solutions are based on the fact that only the shells from the medium-caliber ammunition chain or strip intended for the primary weapon are ejected after shooting, either outside the turret through a specific orifice arranged near said primary weapon, or into a specific collector provided inside the latter. The connectors of the medium-caliber ammunition chain or strip, as well as the residues associated with the small-caliber ammunition intended for the secondary weapon, travel, after shooting, either through one (or two) ejection channel(s) (barrel), or one (or two) evacuation channel(s) (coax), such that, upon leaving the latter, they naturally fall under the effect of gravity inside the turret at the basket, but randomly regarding the reception location.
In addition to the approach described above, a whole series of devices for storing shells and/or connectors is known that have been developed on portable weapons (pistol, rifle, machine-gun, etc.), but without allowing their ejection. In other words, these mechanisms are not transposable to the device developed in the present invention within a turret mounted on any armored vehicle.
In document FR 2,977,018, the invention proposes a device for recovering connectors ejected by a weapon shooting ammunition connected by connectors. This connector recovery device includes a moving corridor conveying connectors that is secured by a first end to a window for ejecting connectors from the weapon. The moving corridor slides at a second end relative to a first end of a fixed corridor conveying connectors, the fixed corridor being secured by its second end to an ammunition box and emerging therein. The fixed corridor also includes a means for propelling connectors favoring the individual progression of each connector in the fixed corridor, the recovery device also including, at the moving corridor and the fixed corridor, a means for guiding the connectors. The propulsion means includes at least one connector propeller that is rotating and placed laterally with respect to the fixed corridor, and the rotation axis of which is perpendicular to the direction of advance of the connectors in the fixed corridor and parallel to the longitudinal axis of the connectors. In one preferred embodiment, the connector propeller includes a cylindrical brush with radial bristles. The guide means includes at least i) a first guide rail secured to the moving corridor able to correspond with the first notch of each connector and thus guiding the connector transversely to the first rail, ii) a second guide rail secured to the fixed corridor able to correspond with the first notch of each connector and guiding the connector transversely to the second rail, and iii) an intermediate rail secured to the fixed corridor and able to correspond with a second notch of each connector guiding the connector transversely to the intermediate rail, when the connector goes from the moving corridor to the fixed corridor. The intermediate rail of the fixed corridor and the first (second, respectively) guide rail of the moving corridor (fixed corridor, respectively) are parallel and partially overlap without contact. Due to the recovery of the connectors, the ammunition box includes a moving partition made from a flexible material separating the connectors from the ammunition, which makes it possible not to increase the volume of the ammunition box.
In document EP 2,156,131, the invention relates to the side ejection belt for ejecting the empty connectors through a central receiver for a machine gun. This ejection on the side of the machine gun allows the barrel to interact with a center of gravity directly below the weapon to improve the general balance with this appropriate center of gravity and allows an ammunition box to be placed below the weapon. One aim resulting from these aspects is not to add substantial weight, mass or equipment to the machine gun. In one preferred embodiment, a machine gun with side strip loading i) ejects the used shells downward from an ejector below the barrel using a new deflector with an ammunition holder that deflects the used shells downward while passing through one side of the firearm, and ii) includes a substantial part of the bag moved from the left side of the weapon to the right, until the overall mass of the bag balances the weapon.
In document US20100319521, a link chute ejection adapter for discharging a weapon comprises an ammunition strip having a base and a cover positioned above the base. A first side wall is coupled to the base and the cover and comprises a proximal end configured to be received removably in a receiving chamber of the weapon. A second side wall is positioned relative to the first side wall and is coupled to the base and the cover. A link chute coupler is supported at the distal end of the base. An ejection chamber is defined by the base and the cover, the first side wall and the second side wall. The ejection chamber extends in an axial direction globally along a longitudinal axis from a proximal end to a distal end, the proximal end being coupled to the receiving chamber of the weapon and the distal end being connected to an ejection chute. A stop of the housing is supported by the proximal end of the first side wall to position a housing for the ammunition strip. An ammunition stop is supported by the proximal end of the second side wall to position ammunition of the ammunition strip. The ammunition stop axially includes a finger moving outwardly away from the ejection chamber and transversely away from the outside from an outer surface of the second side wall.
As described in document FR 804,422, some machine guns used on board airplanes include two side orifices placed behind one another: an ejection orifice for the shells of the ammunition and a separate orifice for the connectors that were connecting these shells when they entered the slide to exit. To avoid the risks due to violent bursting of the shells, an ejection corridor is fairly frequently adapted to machine guns intended to collect the shells and connectors to prevent them from causing damage to their surroundings. The drawback of this ejection corridor is related to the fact that the shells and connectors are mixed therein and frequently become tangled, which causes swelling and even scratching of the machine-gun if a shell bounces into the shell box. Furthermore, this ejection corridor, which rigidly follows the machine gun in all of its shooting positions and during its vertical travel, can only ensure the flow of the shells and connectors by gravity when it is not too close to the vertical direction, since otherwise swelling occurs due to a lack of flow. The evacuation device proposed in this document was designed to avoid these drawbacks. This makes it possible to obtain the following advantages:                i) selective evacuation of the shells and connectors at their outlet from the machine gun with no possibility of mixing, tangling and swelling;        ii) guiding of the shells and connectors by separate chutes only coming together in a location where mixing of the shells and connectors no longer presents any danger;        iii) capturing shells when they leave the machine gun and deflecting the latter by using the live force due to their ejection, so as to impose, using a carefully placed impact wall, a constant evacuation trajectory with no possibility of bouncing toward the slide box and scratching the machine gun;        iv) automatic angular adaptation of separate chutes to the gravitational flow needs of the shells and connectors by pivoting compensating the travel of the machine gun.        
Document U.S. Pat. No. 4,601,230 A discloses a weapon system comprising a primary barrel using a supply of ammunition with connectors and a coaxial machine-gun, both mounted in a turret able to be positioned rotating in an armored vehicle. The ammunition connectors fired by the primary barrel and the ammunition connectors and shells fired by the machine gun are ejected through the neck bearing on which the rotor of the primary weapon rotates, in a compartment that communicates with the outside of the vehicle. The ammunition with connectors of the primary barrel is stored in a rectangular ammunition box positioned diametrically in the turret basket. The connector ejection chutes for the primary barrel comprise guide strips to guide the tabs of the connectors through the chute channels and thus prevent jamming of the chute.